Let’s make a cordial made with fresh wisteria flowers! The color the wisteria buds gives this syrup is stunning and adds a beautiful color to culinary creations. It’s a refreshing and floral syrup to mix into drinks, cocktails and desserts for spring and summer.
Wisteria Flowers
Did you know that wisteria flowers are edible? Until recently I had no idea! Thanks to some demystifying from the Black Forager, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the flowers were in fact edible. I have a wisteria vine in my backyard, I had a source of for a beautiful floral treats hanging above me this whole time! I now use the purple buds for garnishes, desserts and this syrup for cocktails.
As a warning: all other parts besides the flowers of the wisteria plant are not edible and poisonous. Please remove any stems or leaves from the flowers before using in culinary projects.
I am fortunate enough to have a beautiful wisteria vine growing in my yard, but you can find them snaking up buildings and in parks in some areas. It’s good practice when foraging anything edible to know if they have been sprayed or treated or not so forage with caution.
Fermented Cordial
I have instructions for both making this a regular cordial and a fermented cordial. Following the fermenting steps adds a lovely effervescence and probiotics to the cordial. This is not needed for the flavor and to use the cordial!
Tips for fermenting-
Disinfect bottles to keep mold from growing.
Don’t wash your flowers/ingredients. This will allow for native yeasts to start the fermentation process. If use grocery store bought ingredients, adding in 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar with the mother can sometimes help with fermentation.
Loosely cover your cordial. Using cheese cloth or a tea towel will allow the pressure from fermentation escape while keeping bugs out.
Coridals vs. Syrups
Cordials and syrups are very similar. They both start with sugar or a sweetener mixed with water and an infused ingredients such as herb, fruit, flower or spice. The difference with a cordial comes in the addition of lemon juice and/or citric acid. These add a contrasting tartness to the syrup. The citrus acid will also help preserve the cordial longer than a syrup. Citric acid is used in many products as a natural preservative. It exists naturally in citrus fruit, but is commercial produced in powder form.
What to use instead of Wisteria
Not everyone has access to a wisteria plant so you can use any edible flower here to make a delicious flower cordial. Wisteria is a bit more mild in floral flavor than chamomile or rose, so I would start off with half the amount of flowers and increase to taste.
Other flowers you can use:
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Description
This cordial is an beautiful, effervescent syrup made with fresh wisteria flowers! It is a refreshing floral syrup with a slight fermentation that has such a stunning color to mix into drinks, cocktails and desserts for spring and summer.
As a warning: all other parts besides the flowers of the wisteria plant are not edible and poisonous. Please remove any stems or leaves from the flowers before using in culinary projects.
6 cups water
4 cups sugar
2 tbsp citrus acid OR 1/2 cup lemon juice
4 cups wisteria flowers
Gather your wisteria flowers, removing any leaves or stems as these are poisonous. I use a colander or garden basket to shake out any dirt. It might seem odd, but fon’t wash the flowers if you plan to ferment this cordial. They’re covered in native, beneficial yeasts and lactic acid bacteria that are essential for fermentation.*
Disinfect your containers by boiling them. I used 2 – liter jars for this.
Combine sugar, water, citric acid or lemon juice and apple cider vinegar in a pot over medium and stir.
Add the liquid mixture into 2- liter jars or larger container.
Divide the wisteria flowers venal among the containers and stir well. If not wanting to ferment this, you can strain it out after 1 day.
Cover with cheese cloth or tea towel and store in a cool dry place. Stir the mixture well everyday.
I start checking at the 3 day mark for any slight fermentation. I waited a week and had some good bubbles. You can keep fermenting or up to2 weeks for a really bubbly, fermented cordial.
Strain out the flowers. Store in a container in the fridge for up to 1 month, but could last longer. Save the flowers for topping dishes and dehydrating for adding to sugar.
*if you are not able to get fresh flowers, use 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar with the mother to the mix to help with fermentation
Notes
As a warning: all other parts besides the flowers of the wisteria plant are not edible and poisonous. Please remove any stems or leaves from the flowers before using in culinary projects.
This is going to ferment a bit! Bubbles and effervesce are what you are looking for. If you don’t want to ferment it, you can strain out the flowers after 1 day of infusion.
store in the fridge to slow fermentation. Leaving this on the counter can cause pressure build up in the bottle.
Always use your nose and eyes to check for any cloudiness or bad smell which means the cordial has gone bad.
